Results for “Noise control” — Page 33

NASA NTRS1973

Control of supersonic wind-tunnel noise by laminarization of nozzle-wall boundary layer

One of the principal design requirements for a quiet supersonic or hypersonic wind tunnel is to maintain laminar boundary layers on the nozzle walls and thereby reduce disturbance levels in the test flow. The conditions and apparent reasons for laminar boundary layers which have been observed during previous investigations on the walls of several nozzles for exit Mach numbers from 2 to 20 are reviewed. Based on these results, an analysis and an assessment of nozzle design requirements for laminar boundary layers including low Reynolds numbers, high acceleration, suction slots, wall temperature control, wall roughness, and area suction are presented.

Beckwith, I. E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Turbomachinery noise

Summarized here are key advances in experimental techniques and theoretical applications which point the way to a broad understanding and control of turbomachinery noise. On the experimental side, the development of effective inflow control techniques makes it possible to conduct, in ground based facilities, definitive experiments in internally controlled blade row interactions. Results can now be valid indicators of flight behavior and can provide a firm base for comparison with analytical results. Inflow control coupled with detailed diagnostic tools such as blade pressure measurements can be used to uncover the more subtle mechanisms such as rotor strut interaction, which can set tone levels for some engine configurations. Initial mappings of rotor wake-vortex flow fields have provided a data base for a first generation semiempirical flow disturbance model. Laser velocimetry offers a nonintrusive method for validating and improving the model. Digital data systems and signal processing algorithms are bringing mode measurement closer to a working tool that can be frequently applied to a real machine such as a turbofan engine. On the analytical side, models of most of the links in the chain from turbomachine blade source to far field observation point have been formulated. Three dimensional lifting surface theory for blade rows, including source noncompactness and cascade effects, blade row transmission models incorporating mode and frequency scattering, and modal radiation calculations, including hybrid numerical-analytical approaches, are tools which await further application.

Groeneweg, John F.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Interior Noise Reduction by Adaptive Feedback Vibration Control

The objective of this project is to investigate the possible use of adaptive digital filtering techniques in simultaneous, multiple-mode identification of the modal parameters of a vibrating structure in real-time. It is intended that the results obtained from this project will be used for state estimation needed in adaptive structural acoustics control. The work done in this project is basically an extension of the work on real-time single mode identification, which was performed successfully using a digital signal processor (DSP) at NASA, Langley. Initially, in this investigation the single mode identification work was duplicated on a different processor, namely the Texas Instruments TMS32OC40 DSP. The system identification results for the single mode case were very good. Then an algorithm for simultaneous two mode identification was developed and tested using analytical simulation. When it successfully performed the expected tasks, it was implemented in real-time on the DSP system to identify the first two modes of vibration of a cantilever aluminum beam. The results of the simultaneous two mode case were good but some problems were identified related to frequency warping and spurious mode identification. The frequency warping problem was found to be due to the bilinear transformation used in the algorithm to convert the system transfer function from the continuous-time domain to the discrete-time domain. An alternative approach was developed to rectify the problem. The spurious mode identification problem was found to be associated with high sampling rates. Noise in the signal is suspected to be the cause of this problem but further investigation will be needed to clarify the cause. For simultaneous identification of more than two modes, it was found that theoretically an adaptive digital filter can be designed to identify the required number of modes, but the algebra became very complex which made it impossible to implement in the DSP system used in this study. The on-line identification algorithm developed in this research will be useful in constructing a state estimator for feedback vibration control.

Lim, Tae W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Reduction of Helicopter BVI Noise, Vibration, and Power Consumption Through Individual Blade Control

A wind tunnel test was conducted with a full-scale BO 105 helicopter rotor to evaluate the potential of open-loop individual blade control (IBC) to improve rotor performance, to reduce blade vortex interaction (BVI) noise, and to alleviate helicopter vibrations. The wind tunnel test was an international collaborative effort between NASA/U.S. Army AFDD, ZF Luftfahrttechnik, Eurocopter Deutschland, and the German Aerospace Laboratory (DLR) and was conducted under the auspices of the U.S./German MOU on Rotorcraft Aeromechanics. In this test the normal blade pitch links of the rotor were replaced by servo-actuators so that the pitch of each blade could be controlled independently of the other blades. The specially designed servoactuators and IBC control system were designed and manufactured by ZF Luftfahrttechnik, GmbH. The wind tunnel test was conducted in the 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel at the NASA Ames Research Center. An extensive amount of measurement information was acquired for each IBC data point. These data include rotor performance, static and dynamic hub forces and moments, rotor loads, control loads, inboard and outboard blade pitch motion, and BVI noise data. The data indicated very significant (80 percent) simultaneous reductions in both BVI noise and hub vibrations could be obtained using multi-harmonic input at the critical descent (terminal approach) condition. The data also showed that performance improvements of up to 7 percent could be obtained using 2P input at high-speed forward flight conditions.

Jacklin, Stephen A.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Summary of Conference

Environmental issues are a key driver. The need for better mechanisms to enable discipline hopping/crossover (materials (MEMS), control, fluids). Better sensors and actuators and better communication for these to be developed. Better understanding of the needs of the turbomachinery industry, especially in identifying where flow control can be beneficial (e.g., variable intake geometry). Challenge for flow control to be fail-safe, or to be developed for non-critical control gains (e.g., noise). more detailed information on stage through-flow behaviour (with/without control) increased use of laser interrogation (PIV, PTV, MTV).

Morrison, Jonathan↗

DOE OSTI2023

Mitigating the noise of DESI mocks using analytic control variates

In order to address fundamental questions related to the expansion history of the Universe and its primordial nature with the next generation of galaxy experiments, we need to model reliably large-scale structure observables such as the correlation function and the power spectrum. Cosmological N-body simulations provide a reference through which we can test our models, but their output suffers from sample variance on large scales. Fortunately, this is the regime where accurate analytic approximations exist. To reduce the variance, which is key to making optimal use of these simulations, we can leverage the accuracy and precision of such analytic descriptions using Control Variates (CV). The power of control variates stems from utilizing inexpensive but highly correlated surrogates of the statistics one wishes to measure. The stronger the correlation between the surrogate and the statistic of interest, the larger the variance reduction delivered by the method. We apply two control variate formulations to mock catalogs generated in anticipation of upcoming data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to test the robustness of its analysis pipeline. Our CV-reduced measurements offer a factor of 5-10 improvement in the measurement error compared with the raw measurements. We explore the relevant properties of the galaxy samples that dictate this reduction and comment on the improvements we find on some of the derived quantities relevant to Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) analysis.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1973

Design and evaluation of controls for drift, video gain, and color balance in spaceborne facsimile cameras

The facsimile camera is an optical-mechanical scanning device which has become an attractive candidate as an imaging system for planetary landers and rovers. This paper presents electronic techniques which permit the acquisition and reconstruction of high quality images with this device, even under varying lighting conditions. These techniques include a control for low frequency noise and drift, an automatic gain control, a pulse-duration light modulation scheme, and a relative spectral gain control. Taken together, these techniques allow the reconstruction of radiometrically accurate and properly balanced color images from facsimile camera video data. These techniques have been incorporated into a facsimile camera and reproduction system, and experimental results are presented for each technique and for the complete system.

Katzberg, S. J.↗

NASA NTRS1983

NASA/RAE collaboration on nonlinear control using the F-8C digital fly-by-wire aircraft

A cooperative advanced digital research experiment (CADRE) was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), in which nonlinear control algorithms developed by the RAE were tested on the F-8C digital fly-by-wire (DFBW) aircraft based at the Dryden Flight Research Facility. In the initial phase of the collaboration, some variable-gain algorithms, referred to collectively as variable integral control to optimize response (VICTOR) algorithms, were fight tested. With VICTOR, various measures available within the control system are used to vary gains and time-constants within the closed loop and thereby enhance the control capability of the system, while reducing the adverse effects of sensor noise on the control surfaces. A review of design procedures for VICTOR and results of preliminary flight tests are presented. the F-8C aircraft is operated in the remotely augmented vehicle (RAV) mode, with the control laws implemented as FORTRAN programs on a ground-based computer. Pilot commands and sensor information are telemetered to the ground, where the data are processed to form surface commands which are then telemetered to the ground, where the data are processed to form surface commands which are then telemetered back to the aircraft. The RAV mode represents a single-string (simplex) system and is therefore vulnerable to a hardover since comparison monitoring is not possible. Hence, extensive error checking is conducted on both the ground and airborne computers to prevent the development of potentially hazardous situations. Experience with the RAV monitoring and validation procedures is described.

Butler, G. F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Control of a small working robot on a large flexible manipulator for suppressing vibrations: Development of a robust control law for flexible robot and it's stability analysis

Researchers developed a robust control law for slow motions for the accurate trajectory control of a flexible robot. The control law does not need larger velocity gains than position gains, which some researchers need to ensure the stability of a rigid robot. Initial experimentation for the Small Articulated Manipulator (SAM) shows that control laws that use smaller velocity gains are more robust to signal noise than the control laws that use larger velocity gains. Researchers analyzed the stability of the composite control law, the robust control for the slow motion, and the strain rate feedback for the fast control. The stability analysis was done by using a quadratic Liapunov function. Researchers found that the flexible motion of links could be controlled by relating the input force to the flexible signals which are sensed at the near tip of each link. The signals are contaminated by the time delayed input force. However, the effect of the time delayed input force can be reduced by giving a certain configuration to the SAM.

Soo, Han Lee↗

NASA NTRS2004

Mitigation of the Impact of Sensing Noise on the Precise Formation Flying Control Problem

The specific objectives of this proposed research were: 1. Further investigation into the impact of CDGPS sensing errors for high Earth orbit missions. 2. Identify augmentation approaches of the CDGPS that will improve the relative state for low and high Earth orbit missions. 3. Integration of the navigation and control concepts into the GSFC Formation Flying Testbed. In addition this was a cooperative effort with Dr. Jonathan How at MIT. Dr. Alfriend was to spend two weeks working with Dr. How and his students. The travel for these two weeks was paid by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) as cost sharing.

Alfriend, K. T.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Helicopter Non-Unique Trim Strategies for Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) Noise Reduction

An acoustics parametric analysis of the effect of fuselage drag and pitching moment on the Blade-Vortex Interaction (BVI) noise radiated by a medium lift helicopter (S-70UH-60) in a descending flight condition was conducted. The comprehensive analysis CAMRAD II was used for the calculation of vehicle trim, wake geometry and integrated air loads on the blade. The acoustics prediction code PSU-WOPWOP was used for calculating acoustic pressure signatures for a hemispherical grid centered at the hub. This paper revisits the concept of the X-force controller for BVI noise reduction, and investigates its effectiveness on an S-70 helicopter. The analysis showed that further BVI noise reductions were achievable by controlling the fuselage pitching moment. Reductions in excess of 6 dB of the peak BVI noise radiated towards the ground were demonstrated by compounding the effect of airframe drag and pitching moment simultaneously.

Noise Reduction↗

NASA NTRS1993

Neuromorphic Learning From Noisy Data

Two reports present numerical study of performance of feedforward neural network trained by back-propagation algorithm in learning continuous-valued mappings from data corrupted by noise. Two types of noise considered: plant noise which affects dynamics of controlled process and data-processing noise, which occurs during analog processing and digital sampling of signals. Study performed with view toward use of neural networks as neurocontrollers to substitute for, or enhance, performances of human experts in controlling mechanical devices in presence of sensor and actuator noise and to enhance performances of more-conventional digital feedback electronic process controllers in noisy environments.

Merrill, Walter C.↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-19524-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Stephen A Rizzi↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-19003-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Daniel L Palumbo↗

NASA NTRS2014

TPSAS-NF1676L-17844-DND

Distributed propulsion is being proposed as an approach to achieve greater aircraft efficiency. An added benefit which might be realized with a distributed propulsion configuration is a reduction in radiated sound power. A reduction in radiated sound power could relieve concerns related to an increase in community noise that would accompany the adaptation of a fleet of many small aircraft fielded to meet increased travel demand. However, a reduction in radiated sound power does not necessarily translate into community acceptance of the new noise signature. Some characteristics of distributed propulsion configurations can create aural effects that people would find more annoying even though the sound is at a lower power level. To understand the community response to the new class of noise that a distributed propulsion system would present requires the prediction, synthesis and auralization of the noise in a controlled environment. Representative members of the community can then be exposed to the noise and queried for their reaction. These are the types of tests performed in NASA Langley’s Exterior Effects Room. This report summarizes preliminary results obtained using isolated propeller predictions. The sound pressure level of a single ‘large’ propeller is compared to that of two ‘smaller’ propellers of equivalent total thrust. The aural effects of different implementations of the two propellers are also considered. The different implementations include rotation direction and blade passage frequency separation.

Dan Palumbo↗

NASA NTRS2015

SMART Rotor Wind Tunnel Test Report

The Boeing Company, Mesa Arizona, has been developing smart material actuated rotor technology (SMART) under in-house, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), NASA and Army funding. A whirl tower test of the SMART active flap rotor system was successfully conducted at the remote test facility (RTF) in Mesa, Arizona, in 2003. Under DARPA and NASA funding, the SMART rotor system was tested in the NASA Ames National Full Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC) 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel in 2008. The DARPA program objectives were to demonstrate the active flap impact on rotor acoustics in forward flight and establish a validation database for noise prediction tools. Under NASA funding, additional wind tunnel tests were conducted, with the objective to demonstrate and quantify vibration, noise, and performance improvements.Wind tunnel testing was successfully and safely concluded, meeting all high priority objectives. The authority, effectiveness, and reliability of the flap actuation system were demonstrated in 65 hours of testing at up to 155 knots and 7,700 pound thrust. Validation data was successfully acquired for four test conditions; blade loads were too high for the high speed condition. The effectiveness of the flap for noise and vibration control was demonstrated conclusively, with results showing significant reductions in BVI (Blade-Vortex Interaction) and in-plane noise as well as vibratory hub loads. The impact of the flap on control power and rotor smoothing was also demonstrated. Data evaluating any benefits in aerodynamic performance and impact on flight controls were acquired, but will need more detailed evaluation. Both open loop control and closed loop feedback control, using continuous time and higher harmonic controllers, were applied.The purpose of the Test Report is to provide a comprehensive document that describes the preparation for and conduct of the wind tunnel test and summarizes the processing and evaluation of wind tunnel test data for the DARPA and the NASA portion of the test. An overview of the wind tunnel test and results can be found in Reference 1. Details on the testing and results for BVI noise, in-plane noise, and vibrations can be found in References 2-4, respectively. These references are four papers, presented at the American Helicopter Society Annual Forum in 2009. A brief description of the delivered electronic data is provided in Reference 5.

Rotor↗

NASA NTRS1974

A review of air transport noise

Flight vehicles are characterized according to their manner of operation and type of propulsion system, and their associated sources of noise are identified. Available noise reduction technology as it relates to engine cycle design and to power plant component design is summarized. Such components as exhaust jets, fans, propellers, rotors, airflow-surface interactions, and reciprocating engine exhausts are discussed, along with their noise reduction potentials. Significant aircraft noise reductions are noted to have been accomplished by the application of available technology in support of noise certification rules. Improved analytical prediction methods, and well controlled validation experiments supported by advanced design aeroacoustic facilities, are required as a basis for an effective integrated systems approach to aircraft noise control.

Hubbard, H. H.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Structural Acousticcontrol Interior Noise Reduction

The research results contained in this technical report were performed under the NASA grant entitled "Experimental and Numerical Structural Acoustic Control for Interior Noise Reduction". The report is based essentially on partial progress of the Ph.D. dissertation prepared by Jeffrey S. Bevan under direct guidance of Dr. Chuh Mei. The document presents a finite element formulation and control of sound radiated from cylindrical panels embedded with piezoceramic actuators. The extended MIN6 shallow shell element is fully electrical-structural coupled. A piezoelectric modal actuator participation (PMAP) is defined which indicates the actuator performance to each of the offending modes. Genetic algorithm is also employed to validate the sensor and actuator locations determined by the PMAP criteria. The work was conducted at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University. Mr. Travis L. Turner, Structural Acoustics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center is the technical monitor.

Mei, Chuh↗